National News

Iraq loses control of 2nd city

(NEWSER) – Stability is deteriorating quickly in Iraq, where officials are confirming that Islamist militants have seized control of a second city, Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Officials tell the AP that the provincial governor based in Tikrit is missing, while the New York Times notes that militants encountered precious little resistance and appear to be on their way to Baghdad. They've taken over the town of Baiji, an oil-refining center with 200,000 residents, and they've done so "without firing a shot," the Times notes. The militants hold a power station that supplies Baghdad and beyond, and residents in the capital fear the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could come their way next.